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Scoring a job interview is an exciting confirmation that your candidacy materials are having an impact. This triggers a flurry of preparation — scouring the job post, researching the institution, and rehearsing your responses to interview questions.
Another important part of the process is generating questions to pose to each member of the interview team. It can be tempting to gloss over this key feature to focus on your deliverables — your interview answers. Undoubtedly these are important, but remember that while you are being evaluated as a potential fit, you are also assessing the team, manager, and institution where you are seeking employment.
This notion can seem perfunctory when it feels like all the leverage is on the side of the team with the open position. Remember, though, going through the process of accepting a new position, (most likely) resigning from your current role, and onboarding at a new institution is a lot to undertake.
Posing strategic questions to your interviewers informs the life-change you’re contemplating. Here’s how to maximize the opportunity to get the answers you really need.
Recognize Your Value
Job interviews are challenging. Discussing your experience, skills, and goals with a team that is evaluating your responses and comparing you with other candidates can make you feel vulnerable and exposed.
Recognize that you are a valuable part of this process, no matter what decision the interview team ultimately makes. Every institution is eager to attract stellar candidates. If you were invited to interview, you’re a top candidate whose resume stood out among the brood. Proceed with the confidence you’ve earned and cultivate a conversation that serves you.
Forge a Conversation to Get the Information You Need
Asking strategic questions demonstrates that a candidate is a self-aware and strategic communicator. These soft skills are an asset to any team. “Asking thoughtful questions shows that the candidate is genuinely interested in the position and has done their homework,” noted Dr. Felicia Harvey, an employee wellness and burnout prevention advocate who has been in the HR space for nearly 30 years and serves on CUPA-HR’s Illinois Chapter Board.
Having an opportunity to ask questions empowers candidates to lead part of the interview, which can lend a feeling of reciprocity to the meeting. “Asking questions can help to build a connection and rapport, making the interview more of a conversation than an interrogation process which can be unnerving,” Harvey explained.
Shape a conversation that feels comfortable and authentic while giving you information that serves your search. Harvey noted these objectives that you can further through the questions you pose to interviewers:
- Clarifying the Role: This can help candidates gauge whether the role matches their skills and career aspirations.
- Understanding the Work Environment: Questions about the company culture, team dynamics, and leadership style help candidates understand what it’s like to work at the organization. This is crucial for assessing whether they will thrive in that environment.
- Clarifying Uncertainties: If anything discussed during the interview is unclear or if the candidate has concerns, asking questions allows them to address these points directly, ensuring they have a complete understanding of the role and organization before moving on to the next step in the process.
- Negotiation and Decision-Making: Candidates may use the information gathered through their questions to negotiate terms or to decide whether to accept a potential job offer which means it will help the candidate to make an informed decision based on their specific needs and interests.
Target Your Questions to Each Interviewer
As you move through the interview process, you will likely have opportunities to meet with various professionals at the institution. Research each interviewer, and customize your questions accordingly. Each professional can offer a unique perspective that will give you a deeper understanding of the role and the institution.
When talking with an HR professional, for example, consider asking about company culture and benefits, including paid time off. An HR professional may discuss the salary range for the position during an initial screening, or this conversation may come later in the process. In some states, pay ranges are listed in the job posting or job seekers can bring up pay themselves without waiting for the interviewers to initiate the conversation. Learn more about the regulations in your state as part of your pre-interview research.
While a candidate’s meeting with HR professionals often presents an opportunity to drill down into the details about professional life at the institution, interviewing with the members of the team that has the open position gives you a chance to clarify the role and discuss the dynamics on the team. It also positions you to ask a potential manager about their leadership experience and style.
These are details that tremendously impact the employee experience, but you won’t find them on the organization’s website, and you can’t glean from the job post. That’s the kind of information you want to target with your questions.
A Staple to Add to Your List
Just as an employer is interested in your history, Harvey pointed out that it’s a good strategy to ask about the history of the position you’re seeking. “Candidates should always ask employers if this is a new position,” Harvey advised. “If not, they should ask if the previous constituent got promoted or left the organization.” She explained that this often-overlooked question is important “Because if this is a new role, it shows the organization is growing and or takes an active interest in not overworking and/or burning out their current staff. If this opportunity was created due to a promotion, it would demonstrate that the previous candidate is satisfied with the organization and has no desire to leave. It can also speak to the company culture and demonstrate where it places value in not only attracting candidates to the organization but retaining them… Lastly, if the previous constituent left the organization all together, it may mean that the employer does not value their most important asset (the human capital) or simply the organization was not in a financial position to keep the previous constituent from leaving.”
Just as there are a multitude of reasons for seeking a job at a new institution, there are plenty of reasons that a previous employee may have left an institution. This is not necessarily a red flag. Still, it is helpful to know the history of the position you’re pursuing, just as it is meaningful for your potential employers to know about a job seeker’s professional past.
Curiosity Informs Your Candidacy
You may provide excellent responses, ask all the right questions, and still not get the job offer. This happens with job interviews — rejection is simply part of the process. Keep in mind, though, that every question you ask gives you more information about what job fit truly means for you.
By asking thoughtful questions that tease out the information you need to make an informed decision, you truly embrace your role as seeker.
